The present invention is directed to cooling towers and particularly to an apparatus and method for removing water and debris from a cooling tower basin, discarding debris and returning clean water to the basin.
Cooling towers are a component of commercial and industrial heat transfer equipment including for example chillers, coolers, and air conditioning systems. A cooling tower transfers heat from such equipment to ambiance. In a cooling tower, heat is removed from recirculating cooling water by cascading the water over baffles and by drawing a countercurrent of ambient air through the baffles so as to cool the cascading water. Air so heated is exhausted to atmosphere and the cooled recirculating water is collected in a basin situated in the tower under the baffles. The cooling tower basin being exposed to the atmosphere accumulates sediment including airborne dirt, dust, organic matter and so forth that contaminates the water and consequently fouls heat exchange tubes in a heat transfer system.
There are systems for cleaning cooling tower basins such as U.S. Pat. No. 4,839,064 directed to the use of an installation of a siphon and filter together with a portable tool for cleaning one or multiple basins, or a permanent installation including a basin tool for one or more towers. According to the patent disclosure, water and debris are siphoned from a cooling tower and discharged to sewer through a filter. In a modified apparatus for an above-grade siphon, a pump within a hermetically sealed receiver establishes and maintains a siphon from basin through a filter to discharge. For operation of the modified apparatus of the patent, the system is primed between basin and receiver, and the pump is operated to draw water and sediment from the basin for discharge through a filter. The '064 patent requires a permanent installation of components such as receiver and pump unit, or is limited to slow and uncertain action of continuous siphon action for cleaning a basin.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,306,967 discloses a trailer mounted cleaning apparatus for cleaning cooling tower water including a diesel engine driven pump, a filter device, a bank of hydrocyclone separators, and a sediment collecting tank. Clarified effluent from a cooling tower basin is recirculated back to the cooling tower basin, and sediment is collected in the tank for later removal by means of an auger fitted into the tank.
There is need for a conveniently deployed and operationally efficient method and apparatus for cleaning cooling tower basins.
The present invention is directed to an apparatus and method for removing contaminating debris from cooling tower basins.